1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a toy that plays a musical selection or other sounds, and that intermittently activates a visually and aurally surprising kinetic display.
The invention also relates to a toy that plays a musical selection or other sounds, and that intermittently activates a frenetic popping-ball display contained within a transparent enclosure.
The toy of the invention may, in a preferred embodiment, resemble an upright piano, the casing of which houses a motor that causes an agitator to oscillate upon activation, oscillation of the agitator causing balls in the enclosure to be randomly and forcefully propelled against the walls of the transparent enclosure, the rapid impact of the balls against the enclosure creating a loud popping sound.
2. Description of Related Art
A popular toy for infants and very young children is a musical toy that plays short song selections upon pressing a button. The buttons are generally large, and may be lighted to add visual interest and facilitate pressing by the infant or child, while the housing of the toy may be arranged to resemble a musical instrument and/or to support figures that move in response to a mechanical linkage to the buttons.
Another popular children""s toy is the xe2x80x9csurprisexe2x80x9d toy, an example of which is the jack-in-the-box. In the traditional jack-in-the-box, the child turns a crank to activate a mechanism that causes music to be played for a period of time, after which a clown figure suddenly pops out of the box.
A final well-known children""s toy of interest to the present invention the so-called popper, which generally includes an inclined or conical surface that feeds balls to a rapidly oscillating diaphragm or agitator, causing the balls to be forcefully projected in seemingly random fashion against the walls of a transparent enclosure and create a loud popping sound.
The present invention is a toy that combines the entertaining features of all three of the above well-known types of toys. In one embodiment of the present invention, the toy takes the form of a toy piano that permits an infant or young child to play tunes or other sounds, such as animal sounds or narration, upon pressing of a button. An element of surprise similar to that of a jack-in-the-box, in which motion occurs unexpectedly, is then added, the unexpected motion being caused by a motor-driven popper that provides sustained frenetic motion and noise. The effect is quite startling and sure to hold the attention of an infant, and even of a toddler otherwise jaded by the constant activity of modern life.
Aside from the related art represented by the above-described well-known toys on which the present invention is based, three prior patents disclose toys or mechanisms that combine music and motion effects, though not with the same dramatic effect of the present invention.
In two of these patents, a keyboard is combined with a key-activated ball motion display, but because the key motion itself moves the ball, without a motor to add energy to the motion, or initiation of motion during playback of a tune, the effect of the ball motion is entirely different than that provided by the invention. In the first of these patents, U.S. Pat. No. 2,383,305, depression of keys causes lifting of a ball via a mechanical linkage to an inclined runway having metal plates arranged to play a musical scale as the ball descends. In the second patent, U.S. Pat. No. 2,788,697, depression of keys causes a ball to jump in a transparent enclosure, but the jumping occurs simultaneously with pressing on one of the keys to play a note.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,558,490, in contrast, discloses electrically activated motion during playing of a tune, but the motion is in response to electric currents generated by the vibrating stylus of a phonograph. In one embodiment, cessation of sound from the phonograph activates a motor that closes a curtain and, in other embodiments, the electric currents are used to animate an electro-mechanical orchestra. At no time are the resulting motions intended to be unpredictable, and the music is not activated by pushing buttons operable by an infant or young child. In addition, there is no analogue to the frenetic popping motion of the invention. Instead, the xe2x80x9ctoyxe2x80x9d disclosed in his patents seems more suitable for use by older children and adults than by infants and toddlers.
It is accordingly a first objective of the invention to provide a musical or sound playing toy that provides stimulation for a child beyond that which can be provided by music or sounds alone.
It is a second objective of the invention to provide a musical or sound playing toy that intermittently provides a surprise visual and aural special effect as a musical selection is being played.
It is a third objective of the invention to provide a kinetic display for a musical or sound playing toy.
It is a fourth objective of the invention to provide a toy piano arranged to provide both aural and visual effects.
It is a fifth objective of the invention to provide a musical toy with surprising visual and aural effects that can be operated by an infant or very young child.
These objectives are achieved, in accordance with the principles of a preferred embodiment of the invention, by providing a toy having a housing, a plurality of buttons arranged to initiate playback of a tune or other types of sounds, a transparent enclosure containing a plurality of balls, an agitator extending into the enclosure, a motor mounted within the housing for causing the agitator to oscillate and propel balls that encounter the agitator against the walls of the enclosure, a sound generator and speaker, and control circuitry for causing the sound generator to play selected tunes or generate other sounds upon pressing of one of the buttons, and for intermittently activating the agitator during playback of the tune.
In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the housing of the toy is arranged to resemble a piano, and the buttons are configured to resemble keys of the piano.